1968 L71

[Ted F.]

I checked the archives first before I posted and didn't find any similar reference. Just had my carbs (Holley 2300) rebuilt by Craig Woodruff. Upon reinstall on the intake (3937797), I have interference with the throttle levers on the front and rear carbs dragging on the intake which causes the linkage to bind. I'm looking for recommendations and advice as to the proper fix before I proceed. Is this a common problem after rebuild of tripower carbs? Thanks in advance.

[Rich G.]

Re: 1968 L71

Ted

I have a 68 L71 and see no clearence problem. I have not had the carbs rebuilt, but have had the center and rear carb off and on to replace gaskets. Dumb question, but you do have the base gaskets installed?

Maybe the arms got put on wrong. I am not looking at my set-up now, but if you don't get any other help I can send you a picture of mine.

Others on this board are much more qualified to help. I'm sure you'll get a quick answer.

Rich Giannotti

[Ted F.]

Re: 1968 L71

Rich,

Thanks for the quick reply. Gaskets between carbs and intake are installed. Carbs are also installed as far as possible toward the driver's side fender of the engine compartment (not much play but a little with the studs). Just for "testing" purposes and to get an idea of what I will need for clearance, I used three gaskets between all three carbs and the intake and still get interference with the throttle levers on the front and rear carbs.

Ted

[Ted F.]

Re: 1968 L71

Rich,

Thanks for the quick reply. Gaskets between carbs and intake are installed. Carbs are also installed as far as possible toward the driver's side fender of the engine compartment (not much play but a little with the studs). Just for "testing" purposes and to get an idea of what I will need for clearance, I used three gaskets between all three carbs and the intake and still get interference with the throttle levers on the front and rear carbs.

Ted

[Rich G.]

Re: 1968 L71

Ted

I just looked at mine. They are close, but do not hit. I have only 1 base gasket installed. Both the front and rear throttle arms are at approx the "5" o'clock position when viewed from the driver's side. They both have "8" stamped on them.

I'm out of ideas, unless this is one of those "file to fit, paint to hide" situations.

Rich Giannotti

[Chuck R.]

Re: Carb. Spacers?

I remember talk earlier on the board regarding a plastic type spacer that was used to help keep carbs. cooler to prevent the fuel from boiling off preventing vapor lock.

Is it possible that these spacers were still attached to the carbs. when they were sent out for re-building and didn't get re-installed?

I'm just throwing that out there as a possibility.

Chuck

[Ted F.]

Re: Carb. Spacers?

Chuck,

Thanks for the idea. There were no plastic spacers on the carbs when they were shipped to the carb rebuilder. Looking at the AIM, it appears that there is only one thin gasket between each carb and the intake.

Ted

[Chuck R.]

Re: Weeeeeeeeeell

If the intake is the same, and the carbs. are the same, and they were re-installed back onto the same locations (assuming that #1 and #3 could be reversed), and they operated properly prior to removal, I would tend to lean towards improperly installed linkage assemblies.

Can't be much else I would guess. Though the spacers might have been the answer.

I'm sure a tri power guru will jump into the conversations eventually.

I'd be curious what the issue is when you solve it though,

Chuck

[Clem Z.]

wrong carbs?

the intakes were different between 67 and 68 could the carbs be different and you got the wrong ones back

[Ted F.]

Re: wrong carbs?

Took digital pictures of the original carbs before they were sent. External scratches/marks on the carb bodies are the same when returned. Also, checked numbers. They appear to be the same carbs.

When I called the carb rebuilder to discuss the problem he was very surprised. He recommended using multiple gaskets (stacking) between carb and intake. I would probably need five per carb to get clearance. Wouldn't that be a potential for a vacuum leak? Would changing the height of the carb to the intake cause any other problems?

[Clem Z.]

i will bet

that he machined the throttle base plates to make them flat and that is the problem. if you have vernier caliphers check the total thickness and post it and someone will have theirs to measure.

[Clem Z.]

if you are not worried about being NCRS

correct holley sells a gasket that are .060 thick,part #108-9, for the 2300 carbs which may help your problem

[Ted F.]

Re: if you are not worried about being NCRS

Clem,

Thanks for your input and advice. How thick is the standard holley 2300 gasket? Also, was it common practice to mill or file intake manifolds in an attempt to fix leaking carbs?

Thanks again,

Ted

[Clem Z.]

Re: if you are not worried about being NCRS

the GM gaskets are about .015 thick so you would gain about .045 clearance by using the .062 thick holley gaskets. yes sometimes you need to machine some material from the bottom of the the carb throttle body baseplate to get the warpage out. you may also be able to grind some metal from the linkage to get the clearance you need. i have both the GM and the holley gaskets here that is how i checked the thickness.

[Ted F.]

Re: if you are not worried about being NCRS

Clem,

Thanks for your help. I think I'll give the thicker holley gaskets a try and see if that gives me enough clearance. I checked out Holley.com and they route you to local distributors such as Autozone and Advance Auto Parts stores. I've made several call this AM and these stores aren't stocking or interested in ordering gaskets. Where do you recommend buying the 108-9 gaskets? Is there an on-line Internet source?

As a side note, Woodruff did a nice job on my carbs. They look great, Craig's a nice guy to deal with, quick turnaround over the holidays and fair pricing compared to some other carbs I have had rebuilt locally (Upstate NY) over the years.

Thanks again for your help,

Ted